The Fifth Generation of Revolution Studies. Part II: A Systematic Review of Substantive Findings (Revolution Causes, Forms, and Waves)

Critical Sociology. 2025. Vol. 51. No. 3. P. 429–450.

Korotayev A., Ustyuzhanin V., Leonid Grinin, Egor Fain

The article is the first part of our systematic review of substantive findings of fifth-generation revolution studies, building on the examination of the emergence and characteristics of this generation contained in the first article in the series. Our systematic review is divided into two parts. This first part specifically considers the following areas of research explored by fifthgeneration scholars: First, we examine the factors and causes of armed and unarmed revolutionary events. These include economic, political, socio-demographic, and other factors, the majority
of which exert a differential effect on the probability of armed versus unarmed revolutionary destabilization. Second, we examine the factors that influence the decision of participants to adopt a violent or non-violent tactic in revolutionary action. This analysis considers the structural factors, which are dependent on external conditions, and the agent factors, which are dependent on the characteristics of revolutionary movements. Third, we analyze the emergence of concepts such as ‘coupvolutions’ and ‘analogues of revolutions’ within the context of the fifth generation of the theory of revolution. Finally, we examine the phenomenon of the spread of revolutionary events, which is also known as revolutionary waves or the ‘diffusion’ of revolutions, and the mechanisms that drive it.

Keywords: revolution, political sociology, generations of revolution studies, revolution studies, fifth generation of the theory of revolutions, causes of revolutions, revolutionary violence, waves of revolutions

Publication based on the results of: State Resilience and National Security of Russia in the Context of the World Order Transformation (2025)